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The Royals transferred McArthur (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday.
McArthur missed the entire 2025 season while completing his recovery from surgery to address an elbow fracture, and though he was considered healthy heading into spring training, he experienced a minor setback before the end of camp. The right-hander resumed throwing bullpen sessions just over a week ago, but he now won't be eligible to join the big-league staff until at least late May. The transaction frees up a 40-man roster spot for catcher Elias Diaz.
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Royals' Elias Diaz: Moves up to majors
Rotowire
The Royals selected Diaz's contract from Triple-A Omaha on Sunday.
The 34-year-old posted a mediocre .536 OPS over 35 plate appearances at Omaha, but he'll join the big club nonetheless to provide Kansas City with a third option behind the plate. With Carter Jensen receiving an afternoon off and Salvador Perez serving as the designated hitter in Sunday's game against the Yankees, Diaz will enter the starting nine right away at catcher and as the No. 9 hitter.
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Royals' Carter Jensen: Receiving rest Sunday
Rotowire
Jensen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.
After starting eight straight games at either catcher or designated hitter and going 7-for-27 (.259) with two home runs, six RBI and three runs, Jensen will get a breather. Salvador Perez will return to the lineup Sunday as Kansas City's DH, while newly promoted Elias Diaz makes his first start for the Royals behind the plate.
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Royals' Elias Diaz: Promotion anticipated
Rotowire
Diaz is expected to have his contract selected by the Royals on Sunday, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.
Diaz signed with Kansas City in late February and has spent the start of the regular season with Triple-A Omaha. He is hitting only .226 with one double across 34 plate appearances, but he'll still make his way back to the majors. Diaz's immediate role is unclear, and his promotion is not yet official.
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Royals' Elias Diaz: Catches on with Royals as NRI
Rotowire
The Royals signed Diaz to a minor-league contract Friday that includes an invitation to spring training.
Diaz is expected to report to Royals camp next week. The 35-year-old appeared in 106 regular-season contests for the Padres last season, slashing .204/.270/.337 with nine long balls. Unless the Royals carry three catchers on their Opening Day roster, Diaz is likely ticketed for Triple-A Omaha.
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Elias Diaz: Club option declined
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The Padres declined Diaz's (oblique) $7 million club option for 2026 on Tuesday, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Diaz posted a .607 OPS across 283 regular-season plate appearances in 2025 -- his worst mark since 2019. Rather than pay him $7 million to likely act as a backup in 2026, the Friars will instead give the 34-year-old a $2 million buyout and send him into free agency. His defense should still be enough for him to draw interest from other clubs, but he doesn't offer much fantasy upside at this stage in his career.
Diaz (oblique) is not on the Padres' wild-card roster.
Diaz suffered a minor oblique strain during Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks and wasn't able to progress enough to be included on the team's wild-card roster. The Padres will carry three catchers, with Martin Maldonado and Luis Campusano behind starter Freddy Fermin.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Nursing oblique strain
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Diaz's status for Tuesday's wild-card series opener versus the Cubs is in question due to a strained oblique, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.
Diaz tweaked his oblique during Saturday's 12-4 win over the Diamondbacks. The Padres don't believe the injury is serious, but Martin Maldonado and Luis Campusano will travel with the team to Chicago as insurance in case Diaz isn't included on the roster for the wild-card round. Diaz is the clear No. 2 catcher for the Padres behind Freddy Fermin, but he has served as the personal catcher this season for Nick Pivetta, who is slated to start Game 1 of the series.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Shows off power with two homers
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Diaz went 2-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI in Saturday's 12-3 win over the Twins.
Diaz opened with a 405-foot solo shot off Taj Bradley in the fifth inning and later added a two-run blast in the seventh for his second career multi-homer game. The long balls were the veteran's seventh and eighth of the season. Despite the breakout, Diaz hasn't given San Diego much reason to grant him more playing time recently, as he's gone just 6-for-28 over his last 10 games, driving in only two runs outside of Saturday's RBI.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Lifts homer in loss
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Diaz went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 8-2 loss to the Dodgers.
Diaz put the Padres ahead 2-1 in the third inning with his homer, but that was the extent of their scoring. He's seen limited playing time in August, as Freddy Fermin has taken over as San Diego's top catcher. Diaz has gone 3-for-19 (.158) over seven games this month, so he's not doing much to make a stronger case for playing time. Overall, the 34-year-old backstop has a .198/.269/.308 slash line with six homers, 24 RBI, 29 runs scored and seven doubles across 253 plate appearances this season.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Set to lose work to Fermin
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Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
After he appeared to briefly overtake Martin Maldonado as the Padres' preferred catching option toward the end of July, Diaz may be back in the No. 2 role for the rest of the season with San Diego bringing in Freddy Fermin from Kansas City ahead of Thursday's trade deadline. Fermin was on the bench for Friday's 4-1 win but will end up starting the final two games of the series with St. Louis while Diaz sits out.
Padres' Elias Diaz: Sitting after three straight starts
Rotowire
Diaz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.
Though he'll take a seat in the series finale, Diaz may have at least temporarily overtaken Martin Maldonado as the Padres' top catcher. Diaz started in each of the Friars' last three games, going 3-for-12 with a double, five RBI and two runs.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Homers in win
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Diaz went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 8-1 win over the Nationals.
Diaz chased MacKenzie Gore with a two-run homer in the third inning and later added a single in the seventh. It was a much-needed effort for the 34-year-old, who entered Sunday in an 0-for-17 slump to begin July. For the year, he's slashing just .198/.270/.307 with five home runs, 16 RBI and 23 runs scored across 214 plate appearances while sharing time behind the plate with Martin Maldonado.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Adds homer in win
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Diaz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two total runs scored in Sunday's 8-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
Diaz had gone 0-for-8 with three walks and five strikeouts over his previous four games. The catcher was able to do some damage Sunday, stretching the Padres' lead to 7-2 with a ninth-inning homer, his first long ball since May 4 versus the Pirates. Diaz is now at a .219/.292/.336 slash line with four homers, five doubles, 10 RBI, 20 runs scored and no stolen bases over 162 plate appearances. He has been in a fairly even timeshare with Martin Maldonado since the start of June, as neither backstop is doing much consistently with the bat, though Maldonado has the slight edge in playing time over the last week.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Losing work to Maldonado
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Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.
Diaz will take a seat for the second time in the series and the fourth time in the past six contests. Martin Maldonado appears to have at least temporarily moved ahead of him on the depth chart, though Diaz could reclaim primary catching duties if his bat heats up.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Not starting Friday
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Diaz is not in the Padres' starting lineup against the Brewers on Friday.
Diaz will be idle for a second straight game while Martin Maldonado will serve behind home plate and bat ninth. Diaz has gone 3-for-24 with two runs, two RBI and eight strikeouts over his last 10 games.
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